Emergency Preparedness

Written by vlachosk

As I was waiting for an excruciating 25 minutes this
morning for the locksmith to come and open my apartment door – which my
one-year-old son had swiftly closed behind me within a split second of me
stepping out (with my keys on the lock inside) – and going through all sorts of
horror scenarios of potential injuries a toddler can inflict on himself when home
alone, a question went through my mind: “What if this had happened only days
after we had moved to a new country?” Here, I know exactly what to do and who
to call; within seconds somebody was on his way. I have neighbors who can lend
me their phone. I have friends I can ask for help in emergencies. But when you have
just moved to a new place, often you have none of that – you don’t know people
and you don’t have a support network. So what do you do?

I believe in the Scout Motto: Be Prepared.

So here’s a more practical question for the weekend:

What are the first things you do, either before or
right after you move to a new location, to be prepared for emergencies, big or
small, silly (like mine today) or serious?

At least what happened got me thinking about the list of numbers I will have with me on my first day in Zurich. Not to mention about the importance of getting to know our neighbors asap 🙂I agree, it is very rewarding to have friends (almost) all over the world – even if that also means that I am bound to miss most of them most of the time!

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About Katia

Katia writes about cross-cultural adaptation and expatriate life, exploring the challenges of finding and sustaining home amidst the chaos of nomadic life. A Greek by birth and a perpetual foreigner by choice, she has lived in eight cities and seven countries in the last 20 years.